Lot # 842: 1946 Parade Sportive (Sports Parade) Montreal Royals Team with Jackie Robinson Pre-Rookie PSA POOR 1 - Advertising Variation

Outstanding, rarely offered example from the 1946 Parade Sportive issue featuring future Brooklyn Dodgers Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson as a member of the Montreal Royals International League team. This premium, along with the individual card featuring Robinson from the same set, has been largely overlooked by collectors but is of enormous significance as it is the earliest card (premium) to feature Jackie Robinson as a professional ballplayer! This Canadian set was issued over a span of several years in the mid-1940s in conjunction with the Parade Sportive radio program (C. K. A. C) hosted by Montreal personality Paul Stewart. The black-and-white large-format cards measure either 5 by 9.5 inches or 7 by 10 inches and feature primarily members of the Montreal Royals team, including Robinson. The premium offered here is the 1946 Royals team card, featuring twenty-three members of the team with Robinson standing at far right. This item was issued with or without advertising along the bottom border; the offered is the more desirable with advertising variation. Graded POOR 1 by PSA, the premium displays a crisp image, light corner wear, moderate creasing, and a fold line extending across the center. Many collectors are not familiar with this issue, or its significance, due to its exclusive distribution in the Montreal area during the short time period in which Robinson was with the team, and the fact that the issue is not a traditional "gum-card style" set (being a large-format premium-style issue). This premium is without question one of the earliest issues for this Hall of Famer and as such represents one of his rookie cards.